On Jul. 20, 1869, Dr. Francis Henry Brown organized a small group of Harvard Medical School graduates joined by Boston’s civic leaders to establish a 20 bed Children’s Hospital in a townhouse on Rutland Street in Boston’s South End.

The hospital treated just 30 patients that first year. One year later the Children’s Hospital relocated to a larger building on the same street. The patients were predominately Irish immigrants and many had traumatic injuries or infectious diseases.

Philanthropy completely supported the new hospital. Sister Theresa and the Anglican Order of the Sisters of St. Margaret oversaw the nursing care of the children for the first 45 years of the hospital’s existence.

By 1882 having outgrown its current structure, the hospital was moved to Huntington Avenue near the current Symphony Hall. This larger building was designed especially for children’s needs. As the range of illnesses grew, so did the professional staff. Between the years 1882 and 1914 the practice of pediatrics was recognized as a specialty and Harvard Medical School made its first appointment of a physician devoted solely to the care of children

Today, Boston Children’s Hospital is a comprehensive center for pediatric health care. As one of the largest pediatric medical centers in the United States, Boston Children’s offers a complete range of health care services for children from birth through 21 years of age.